


An Arsenal of Cute

by dontshootmespence



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Ducks, Elephants, Fluff, Gen, Kittens, Puppies, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22634056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontshootmespence/pseuds/dontshootmespence
Summary: After a tough case involving kids, Penelope invites Kate over to drown their sorrows in wine and baby animal videos.Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)
Relationships: Penelope Garcia & Kate Callahan
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	An Arsenal of Cute

Penelope shrugged her blue sweater over the dress she wore, more than ready to get away from the icky-ness that was the images on her numerous screens. She threw her bag over her shoulder and walked toward the elevator, looking forward to the click-clack of her heels on the stairs instead of the tile floors of the Bureau. 

After finishing their paperwork, most of the other team members had left for the night, but not Kate. There she was, sitting at her desk, looking every inch the beautiful, sad bombshell. Cases with kids were never easy, but especially for someone with a kid. “Hey,” Penelope said softly. “You okay?”

“Yea,” she replied, brushing her hair back from in front of her face. “Just, these cases…”

“I know. Icky icky gross. I can’t even imagine how you feel with that sweet little bean at home.”

Kate gave Penelope a half smile and stood up from her desk, slipping into her bomber jacket. “Not tonight. Tonight, I am a free agent. Chris is away on a business trip and Meg is at a friend’s for a sleepover.”

As they walked toward the elevator, Penelope’s face lit up. “Oh, oh, I know what you should do. Come over to my place and we’ll drink wine and watch cute animal videos.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open slightly. “That - That is an excellent idea, Penelope Garcia.”

The entire drive back to Penelope’s place consisted of a conversation about baby animals. Any and all of them. Especially puppies and kittens. “Every time we have a case involving kids, I watch puppy and kitten videos before going to sleep,” Penelope said as they got out of the car and walked up to her apartment. “I have lists on YouTube of all my favorites so that I can call upon my arsenal of cute whenever my brain needs a scrubbing.”

Laughing, Kate followed Penelope inside and plopped down on the couch. “It’s absolutely necessary if you ask me. You can’t do the type of work we do without having some kind of an outlet outside it, you know?”

“Exactly. You get me, Kate Callahan.” She excitedly poured two glasses of wine, handing one over before she sat down and pulled out her laptop. “Now, you drink as much as you want. You’re a mama. You deserve it. I have the pinnacle of pull-out couch mattresses here that you can use if you want to crash.”

“I think I might just have to do that. Thanks, Penelope.”

“For what?” She asked naively, making Kate laugh.

“People tend to forget about moms, you know? They always ask about the kids, and they should, obviously, but sometimes the moms like to know there’s someone there to vent to or distract them or whatever. Plus, I just joined the team recently and I thought I’d feel like the odd man out, but you’ve got a way of pulling people in.” 

Penelope’s eyes were watering. “I might cry,” she replied, laughing it off. “I’m always here when you need me. Now, puppies or kitties?”

“Puppies,” Kate replied sheepishly. “If I wasn’t away so often, I’d want one at home.” 

“Same. Oh, what about this one?”

“Eleven boxer puppies in one litter? Gimme.”

A chorus of coos and baby talk echoed throughout the appointment. Puppies stepping over each other. Dying to get to mom, who honestly just needed a nap. Puppies stepping in their own poop. Even that was adorable. Kate tipped the glass back, taking a gulp. “This is what heaven is like to me. Just, give me all the puppies.”

“I wonder if I could get the Bureau to sanction a bring your dog to work day,” Penelope said deviously, making both a phone note and a mental note to bring it up. “I mean it’s for our mental health. Puppies make everything better.”

They didn’t even bother searching for another video; the next one in the queue was a time lapse video of a litter of golden retrievers over the course of 12 weeks. They were one of those dogs that no matter someone’s favorite dogs, goldens could get anyone to love them. 

Kate finished her glass and leaned toward the laptop, searching for pug puppy videos, only to find a compilation of what were possibly the cutest pugs ever. Tiny little babies chewing on shoelaces, a little napper getting his belly tickled, a newborn making the cutest little noises in the world. “This is too cute. I need a puppy. I need all the puppies. Oh my god, have you seen videos of elephant calfs cuddling? They love cuddles.”

“Oh, I need it,” Penelope said excitedly, fingertips gliding across the keys like a bird on the water. “Stop! Look how cute.”

They wanted to be lap animals, but they were so not, and the elephants didn’t care. “We need to find a place where we can pet baby elephants. We’ll take Meg!” Penelope exclaimed.

For hours they cycled through all types of animal videos, specifically baby animals, ducks, kittens, puppies, elephants, goats - anything and everything to soothe the day’s troubles away. 

After almost a bottle of wine a piece, they started falling asleep on the couch, the little quacks of baby ducks lulling them off to sleep. Cute animals made everything better.


End file.
